Link, the Dark Soul Within
by The Twilight Wolf
Summary: Link is a guard at Hyrule Castle. He wakes up one day, and finds his dream became a reality. What caused this? Why is Link losing his memory? What is this darkness he now feels? Please R&R. T for violence. Chapter 6 Updated.
1. A Silent Night

Link, the Dark Soul Within

The silence in the air was deafening. The crisp autumn air filled the night. The only sign of movement in the field was a man moving swiftly but quietly, careful not to be seen or heard by anyone that may be awake. The man slowed down to a halt upon arriving at the castle gate, lit by torches. The nameless man grabbed a stick and lit it on fire with the lit torch so he could find his way. Moving out of the light, he kept his hand on the castle wall to find his way. In his mind, he counted the number of stones he felt, stopping at thirty-seven. Looking down, he kicked away the brush to reveal a secret passage. After extinguishing his make-shift torch, he descended into the passage.

At the bottom of the passage, he waited for his senses to adapt to the moist and musty environment that now surrounded him. Now that he regained a sense of sight, he moved quickly, unconcerned with noise, for he was far enough below the castle so that he wouldn't be heard. He reached the end of the passage, only to be stopped in his tracks by the unmistakable light of a torch.

"Damn," he thought. "They never guard this passage."

"Who's there?" asked the guard in an authoritative voice.

The man silently moved into the corner as the guard came around. He waited, unsheathing his dagger, stalking his prey. The guard slowly but surely turned the corner, looking around with his torch.

"State your name and I'll spare your life" the guard ordered, still unsure as to what caused the noise in the first place.

"My life won't need sparing" replied the man, sheltered by the shadows.

The guard moved his torch, bringing it around to the source of the voice.

"Again I ask, who's there?" asked the guard, a little unsure of himself.

"Only your fears," came the reply from the darkness. With those words, he moved again, luring his ignorant prey to his voice. "Now is the perfect opportunity" he thought. "His back is turned, and he's scared".

He leapt forward, and jammed his dagger into the side of the neck of the guard. He torqued the blade around, killing the guard instantly.

"Such a shame, too" muttered the killer to himself. "There was only supposed to be one death this evening."

He laid the guard in the corner, the blood flowing profusely from the stab wound staining his hands and clothes a crimson red. Undeterred by the minor delay, the man pressed onward. Reaching the end of the passage, he climbed the ladder, and entered the castle.

"Now where did that old fool say I needed to look?" thought the man. "Ah, now I remember, there".

His destination determined, the man crept along the castle, careful to avoid the guards he knew were on patrol. After what seemed like hours, the man reached the castle treasury. Right in the center, he found the object he desired so much that it consumed him: The Scepter of Separation

"Stop" came the voice of a female.

"Don't move, or do anything," ordered the man, holding a knife to his throat. "Or else I'll kill myself. And if I do, my weaker, pathetic half you love so much will die as well".

"You wouldn't" said the female confidently, although in her mind she was just as unconfident as she sounded confident.

"Wouldn't I?" began the man. "I am unafraid of death. You, you let your emotions distort your reason. It's pathetic, really. He doesn't even love you back"

"You lie!" shouted the female defiantly.

"Believe what you want. I choose to know facts. Now if you'll step aside, I'll be going".

The female, not wanting her love to die, obliged. The man slowly sidestepped by, his knife still at his throat. After passing the female, he ran to a full sprint, dropping the dagger from his throat. He had only one goal in mind: to escape with his prize. But the female outsmarted the man. She already alerted the guards. The man would walk into a trap.

The man, wanting to take a shortcut, cut across the courtyard, where unbeknownst to him, awaited several guards with their bows drawn, ready to fire. The man was in the center of the courtyard when the guards sprang. They did not know, however, that he was no longer as he seemed. His darkness had receded, and he reverted back to normal. He was left surrounded to wonder how and why he ended up in this situation. Then the memory came flooding back to him. That evening, not to long ago, that began everything.


	2. The Beginning

Chapter 2: The Beginning

The rain was pouring down from the night sky on the village. Its inhabitants were in their houses, sleeping soundly to the melody of the pitter-pattering of the rain. One man roamed the village, with a thirst for blood that needed quenching. The village's ignorance to the plan that would soon unfold made the man smile. He leisurely strutted between the houses. Arbitrarily, he stopped in front of the most luxurious house in the village; it was one of the few two level houses there. He walked the perimeter of it, so as to judge the best means of an entry. Finding nothing, he resided himself to the fact that use of the door was necessary. He approached the back door and turned the knob. He smirked as the door was not locked and allowed him access to the innards of the domicile.

The man looked around the interior, searching for the staircase. After a minute or so, he located it and promptly climbed it. At the landing, he three doors surrounded him. He stood there, contemplating which door to take, as if he were a connoisseur choosing between three types of delectable wines. Choosing the left door, he opened it slightly, and peered into the room. What he saw brought a smirk of delight to his mouth and a glint of evil to his eyes.

There was a little girl, sleeping soundly on beddings. The man tiptoed in, careful not to wake this child or her family. Upon reaching the girl, he unsheathed his dagger. He ran its cold blade against the face of the sleeping girl, getting a feeling of ecstasy from each moment the steel was in contact with her flesh. Unable to wait any longer, he turned the blade against her neck. He put one hand over her mouth, and then applied pressure to the blade, moving it across the neck of the girl. He sheathed his dagger, now stained with the blood of its first victim. The man, containing his glee, left the room. He closed the door behind him and descended the stairs, wishing he would be able to see reactions of her parents. He left the house and then the village, leaving no signs of his presence except for one victim. His thirst quenched for now, he returned to his abode where he laid down to sleep for the rest of the night.


	3. The Morning After

The man awoke with a sweat on his brow. Groggily, he rolled out of bed with a thud. He forced himself up, and felt a warm feeling on his arm. He reopened a cut from last week. He looked at his bed and saw blood stained it in various spots.

"Damn," he thought. "Must have reopened it in my sleep".

He went to the water basin to clean the wound, after which, he tore off part of his tunic and used it to dress the wound. He then dressed in his guards uniform, grabbed his pike and shield, and made his way to the castle mess hell where he could get a good breakfast. Upon arriving at the hall, he heard a buzz about his fellow guardsmen that was atypical of the morning shift and the just finishing graveyard shift. Curious as to what was going on, he used the back of his shield as a makeshift tray, and loaded it with food quickly. Searching the crowded mess hall, his friend sitting at a side table, and went over to sit with him.

"You do know that you've got your food on your shield, right?" asked his friend.

"Oh. Haha, yea, I guess I am not that awake yet," he replied.

"Well, look alive on duty, the head guard is coming by our post during our guard duty today."

"Crap, that's TODAY?"

"No, I just wanted to see the look on your face."

"Haha, very funny."

"Except for the fact I was serious. Man, you're out of it. It's kind of funny. What happened?"

"Rough night. But I've been meaning to ask you, what happened last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, everyone is talking more than normal. Kind of figured something happened to cause it"

"Oh! Yea, you obviously didn't hear, did you? Some girl in the near by village was found with her throat slit. No one saw anything, and there was no knife near by, so it was not a suicide"

"That's terrible"

"Yep. Castle is going to send a few guards there for a night shift, see if they can see anything, or catch someone".

"I hope they do. Anyone who kills a poor innocent little girl deserves to die."

The two finished eating together, and took their post at the castle gate. The man made no mention of the eerie similarity between his dream and what had happened to his friend, only making a brief mental note. Their day went by as usual, and the head guard's passing by went well. The man managed to keep his mind occupied, not thinking of the similarity at all. Towards the end of their shift, the princess approached the two.

"Hey, you" came a teasing female voice.

"Hiya, princess," replied the man, hiding his reluctance to speak. "What's up?"

"Not much really, just came by to see _you_"

"Gee...I..I..uh..." stammered the man, thinking of how he could politely reply to royalty. "I feel kinda special, I mean me, a guardsman, seen by you, heir to the throne".

"Teehee, thanks Link" giggled the princess. "So..." she began, overly seductive. "Would you do me the honor of being my escort to dinner this evening?"

"Are you sure I can Zelda?" asked Link, searching in vain for an excuse not to go. "I mean, I am not exactly royalty.

"Oh, don't be silly, everyone there knows you, and trusts you."

"I guess I could go," Link sighed.

"Thanks so much." replied Zelda excitedly. "You should probably go to your house and get changed first".

"I wish I could, but I'm on duty till sunset."

"Well, it's not long till then, so as princess of Hyrule, I, Zelda, allow you to leave early".

"Thanks".

"Anything for you, Link".

Link left his post and sprinted to his house. Now that he had to attend dinner, he had even less time to see the woman for whom he yearned, Malon. He quickly entered his house, and took of his guards uniform in one motion by throwing it into the corner where it hit with a loud clank. He pulled his tunic off, and frantically searched for his white dress tunic. He found it, and threw it on with haste. He checked his reflection in the water basin, and then sprinted for Lon Lon Ranch to see Malon. He arrived, and found Malon watching the sunset. Link knew that he had to make this quick, and it hurt him greatly inside knowing it.

"Hey Malon"

"Hey Link. How are you on this evening?"

"In a bit of a rush, but enough time to see _you_" Link said as he walked closer towards Malon to sit by her.

"Gee, thanks"

"Isn't the sunset beautiful?" Link asked as he put his hand on Malon's. Malon unconsciously withdrew her hand on the touch.

"Yes, it is. Especially over the castle. Oh I love the castle. You're so lucky to work there Link. It's such a great place, and plus, you can see Princess Zelda every day."

"Meh, it's nothing special."

Malon sighed. Link didn't know, and he probably never would. Link looked at the sun once more and realized that his time was up.

"Crap, I gotta go to a dinner with Princess Zelda. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Say hi to princess Zelda for me"

"Okay".

Link ran out of Lon Lon Ranch and made a mad dash for the castle. Despite not wanting to be there, he knew if he didn't show up, he'd be in trouble, something he wanted to avoid. Link arrived at the Castle and found Princess Zelda waiting for him. The two locked arms, and walked down the court towards the head table for dinner.


	4. Dinner and a Death

Link and Zelda arrived at the table and sat inbetween the king and his friend with whom he shared guard duty as a royal orchestra of sorts was playing background music.

"Hey Eidermand"

"Hey Link. This is not good."

"Oh?"

"I got stuck with guard duty in Kakariko Village tonight. AND I have to work in the morning."

"You'll get double pay, right?"

"Nope. Lucky, ain't I?"

"I guess you could call it that. But hey, look on the bright side. It's not the worst fate in the world."

"Then what is?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that one."

With those words, the feast arrived: roasted boar. It was a welcome change from the usual food that Link ate, and he dug in quickly. During the feast, Zelda put her hands on Link, who was too busy enjoying his meal to care. Zelda took no notice of Link shoveling the delicious boar into his mouth and ignoring her touch, only wanting to hold Link's hand. After everyone at the head table finished eating, King Daphnes made an announcement to those gathered in attendance.

"Attention everyone. Yes, it is true that a small girl was killed yesterday in Kakariko Village. Yes, it's true that we do not know who the killer is. But, that is no reason to be afraid. We have the very best guards in Hyrule on duty as we speak, and to be on duty later this evening. We are determined to find this threat. However, I urge all of you to take precautions. Lock your doors. Shut your windows. Don't walk out alone at night, especially if you are unarmed. Now on a less somber note, it is time for the Royal Dance. My daughter, Princess Zelda, would you do us the honors of performing the first dance for us?"

"Why of course. Link, would you dance with me?"

Link inwardly sighed at the great conflict before him. He loved Malon, and thought it would be bad if he did anything with another woman. Then again, it would look horrible if he refused a royal invitation to anything, and he did not want to hurt Princess Zelda by saying no despite not having feelings for her. It was this great battle between his heart and his mind that pained him deeply. For better or worse, his brain won this round.

"Why sure, Princess."

Link stood up from his place and grabbed Zelda's hand. She led him towards the center of the hall as the orchestra warmed up for the upcoming dance. Link took the lead in the dance as the orchestra played a wonderous song for the two, doing his best to not disappoint Zelda. Zelda, on the other hand, was doing her best not to screw up, worried that one mistake would make Link not love her. Both feigned enjoyment of the dance, trying to please the other. When the dance finished, both inwardly breathed sighs of relief that it finished. They took their seats, as the people on the sides of the room got up and joined each other in dance.

Around ten, the party ended. Everyone said their goodbyes, Eidermand went to the village, and Link walked home. He clumsily fell into bed face-first, succumbing to fatigue. Link dreamt of a dark cloud chasing him through an open field split in two sides: light and darkness. Link ran through the light side, desperately trying to escape the cloud. He got over to the dark side of the field, only to realize what had just happened: The cloud lured him to the dark side, where it would have an advantage. Link turned around and ran desperately for the light side, trying to avoid the cloud, only to fail and be engulfed by the darkness.

Link woke up, but was not himself. He grabbed his dagger and boldly walked out his door, defying the king's advice not to go out alone at night. He creapt along the shadows, heading towards Kakariko Village. He needed to kill someone. The thirst for blood poked at him every waking moment. It soon overwhelmed him. He couldn't wait anylonger. He looked at his wrist, and his dagger. He gently pressed it against his skin, just enough to cause there to sprout blood. He rubbed his face against it, gaining pleasure from the moisture of the red fluid. He continued along his path, finally ariving at the village.

Standing in the center of the village was Eidermand. Link saw this and instinctively climbed a hill overlooking the center. This kill would require some skill, he thought. A direct confrontation would not serve him well. He overlooked Eidermand and picked up a rock beside his feet. He needed to have Eidermand afraid in order for this to work properly. He through the rock, and heard it crash with a thud beside Eidermand's feet.

"Who's there?" asked Eidermand.

"My name is Ahriman" replied Link, still with darkness in him. He moved silently along the hill to confuse his opponent.

"Did you kill the little girl last night?"

"I did. And soon you will join her."

"I am armed. I am a full grown man. Your scare tactics won't work on me."

"Oh yea?" With those words, he took his dagger and threw it right at the man. It cut the air with blazing speed. As it was in midair, the darkness left Link. He came to wondering where he was. He saw the dagger in the air just as it entered his dear friend's throat. Link quickly turned around to see the hill above him to see who threw it, but in vain. He quickly slid down the hill, and looked at his friend. His eyes were glazed over; he died before Link even got there. Link took out the dagger and cried as he held his friends head against his shoulder, getting more blood on him. He called out for help, but no one could hear him. His friend had been murdered by the very same person that killed the little girl. He looked at the corpse with tears in his eyes, and knew what he must do.


	5. A Difficult Explanation

Link wiped the tears away from his eyes with the back of his hand. He reached down and cradled the corpse of his now departed friend Eidermand, and picked him up. He fumbled the dagger into his mouth, biting the blade. Slowly, he made his way out of Kakariko Village, body in arms. He knew that his friend had been murdered, and that the king should know about it. It was the second murder in as many nights at the same place. Something, he thought, had to done about this. Link stopped at a tree right near a stream going through Hyrule Field. He gently laid Eidermand down on the cool night grass, spat the dagger out on the ground, and put his back up against the tree. He had to take a breather, carrying a full grown man was tiresome.

"I'll only lay down for a minute," he thought. Soon the minute passed, but Link did not get up. He was too tired to carry on, and fell asleep as a result. After what seemed like a minute to Link, he opened his eyes to see a guard standing above him with the sun at the back of the guard.

"Link, you have a lot of explaining to do," began the guard in an authoritative voice.

"Gah..." Link muttered as he squinted, eyes adjusting to the light. "What time is it?"

"That is not of importance.," he replied, even more full of a sense of authority. "What is of importance is the fact you right now are lying next to the corpse of Eidermand, and you are bloodied as well, dare I say his blood? You weren't scheduled for a shift, so there's no reason for you to be out of your house, especially after what the king said last night. Yes, I was there as well, and I saw YOU there as well, so I know you heard his advice."

Link was in a position he did not want to be in. "Damn my stupid body," he thought. He had to think quick. Any hesitaiton would not be received well.

"You want the plain honest truth?" Link asked, stalling for time to think up a good explanation.

"No, I'd like a big fat lie. OFCOURSE I want the truth, Link."

"Well then. Well, I, heard a faint scream last night on my way home from the dinner coming from Kakariko Village. I sprinted there as fast as I could, knowing full well my friend Eidermand was on duty. I arrived at the village to find Eidermand laying down with that dagger in his throat. I immediately picked him up and made an effort to bring his corpse to the castle. I got tired along the way, and made a quick rest at this tree. Apparently I fell asleep, and other than that, I got nothing else to say because, well, it would be speculation. And all you want is truth." Link gulped. He said that with confidence, as though it were true. He only hoped that the guard would believe him. 

"Interesting little story," he began. Link gulped. He distinctly heard the word "story". "I find it interesting that no one else heard the scream from Eidermand. I find it interesting that you wouldn't get help from the village. Could you explain these, Link?"

"Well, I don't exactly have a choice, now do I? I mean, you don't even trust your fellow guard here. Anyhow, Kakariko Village was asleep. While the scream may have woken someone up, that person or persons more than likely fell back asleep relatively quickly. As for me not getting help from the village, why needlessly cause a panic, maybe even a riot? They took their advice from the king and locked their doors, so the murder couldn't break in. Also, I saw it in my best judgement to alert the royal family to this, so as to dispatch more guards next time to catch this murderer."

"How do you know they locked all their doors? Did you check?"

"Again, I used judgement. I made a split second decision."

"Ha, your judgement? That's pathetic. You may hide behind your so called judgement as an excuse for something you're hiding, but I know better. I'm paid to use MY judgement. Right now I know there's something more to this. There's something you're not telling me. In fact, it is in MY best judgement to interrogate you with the king present.."

"Did I hear someone say the king?" came a voice off in the distance. It was the king, being escorted to Kakariko Village.

"Yes, you did," replied the guard. "Link here has something he wants to tell you."

Link gulped. Lying to the guard was one thing, but to the king was a completely different story. The king could see right through a lie. He had to inorder to do his job effectively.

"Well," came the regal voice. "What is it?"

"You see, your majesty, whilst on my way home from dinner last night, I heard a faint scream from Kakariko Village. I ran to it, and found Eidermand dead with a dagger in his throat. I tried to bring him to you so as to alert you, but I got tired from carrying him. I rested, but fell asleep. Thankfully nothing happened to me or Eidermand's corpse."

"Well, that is a terrible turn of events. Does Kakariko know?"

"No," replied Link.

"Good," said the king quickly. "Let's keep it that way, atleast for now."

"But your highness," the guard interrupted. "The people have a right to know".

"Thanks for your consult, but I pay you to guard, not to help me make decisions like this."

"Yes, your highness."

"Link, go on and get ready for your guard duty. We'll take care of things here".

"Yes, your majesty".

Link walked off to his house to get dressed for guard's duty. All the while he thought about his dream last night, and how he ended up in Kakariko Village. He had no memory of going there, and no one has ever sleepwalked a great distance. There was something more to what was going on, he thought. He pounded a fist against an outside wall of his house and leaned against it, grieving over the loss of his friend, and frustrated over his lack of an explanation for being in Kakariko. He fooled the king, but that was not that important to him. He couldn't convince himself as to his presence in Kakariko Village, which concerned him greatly. His greatest concern that his ability to make a sane explanation for himself of the dealings of the past two nights, and his involvement, if any, in those occurances was slowly slipping away.


	6. Critical Capacity

THUMP. Link's heart beat against his chest as he ran to guard duty after changing into uniform. It beat louder with each passing second. The thoughts of the demise of Eidermand and the slaughter of the little girl swam in Link's conscious mind, wondering why he dreamt about them. Subconsciously, he wondered why the details were so vivid. Link knew that there was something to his situation. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

A cheery air filled the mess hall. They had not yet known of Eidermand's being slain. Link looked at them through sad eyes; he didn't want to be the one to break the news of what happened. As far as they knew, Eidermand was sleeping in his house, tired after working the graveyard shift in Kakariko Village. None of them took notice of Link's depressed manner, nor the blood that stained the hands he carelessly forgot to wash. Link clumsily ate his meal, too pensive and depressed to care about the foot which he let fall onto his clothes. Once finished, he slowly got up to go stand guard, his inner chaos reflecting upon his outer-self. He was silent through out his guard duty, brooding over his past two nights, trying to reach a conclusion. After much internal strife, Link realized what he must do. He had to confide his secret in someone. And he knew the only person he could ask to bear such a burden.

"Malon?" Link said hesitantly.

"Yes Link?" asked Malon, not bothering to look up from picking flowers.

"I need your help."

"With?" she said as she got up to look at Link.

"I've had some weird dreams. And they've come true. That's not normally a bad thing, but they're not good dreams. I've seen two people die in my dreams. When I woke up, I found out they actually did die."

"Ever think it's a coincidence?"

"At first, but then I thought about it. I saw the blade being plunged into the girl's neck. I saw it. I stood watching speechlessly as I saw a dagger fly at my friend's neck. I was _there_ that time. It had to be more than a coincidence".

"Maybe you can see the future?"

"No, it's happening as I see it."

"Maybe you can see other people's thoughts?"

"I hope not. That would torment me, seeing people die, and not being able to do anything about it".

"There are always worse fates, Link."

"Yea, right now, I'm finding that hard to believe."

"Hey Link, its getting late, I gotta go in and sleep."

"Life on the farm that tough?"

"Kinda. Up early, in early. It's hardwork, but it could always be worse."

"I suppose. I'll see you later."

"Bye".

Link left Lon Lon Ranch and headed to his house, tired, hands still covered in Eidermand's blood. Malon's lack of notice of the blood on Link's hand did not settle with Link, who was just happy to see her. Deciding it was too late to do anything else, Link went back to his house to sleep. As he walked, his heart beat faster, his walk turned into a run. The darkness in his head crept in, slowly engulfing all rational thought. Quickly, he fell to a knew and clutched his head as if he had a massive migraine. After a minute, he lout out a scream of agony. He rose to his feet. The darkness now filled his mind and body.


End file.
